Instagram Redesign Leaves Space For Ads?

Do you really care about being able to browse Instagram photos on a map?

It’s an honest question… I really want to know if you’re super excited about the new Photo Map feature, or if you feel kinda like, “what’s the point?”

For months, I’ve been wondering how Instagram, and now Facebook, will attempt to monetize it’s 80M+ users. With the addition of this location-based feature, the rumor mill is abuzz with word that the new maps feature is the open door, through which Facebook will finally ruin Instagram with ads… I’m being facetious here.

While it’s true that Facebook desperately needs to show that it’s as good at attracting dollars as it is users (for its stockholders anyway), I don’t think direct mobile ad revenue was why Facebook bought Instagram. Even though, as Ryan pointed out on Driving Traffic, Zuckerberg should probably be monetizing every monetizable piece of his company for his creditors and investors…

At this point though, I’m going to say that I think Instagram (FB) added the location-based feature just because they could. I mean, they have the technology and everybody else is doing it. So why the hell not?

It’s not the bombshell I’d like to be writing here… I’d like to say that Instagram is about to go over some big cliff, because that’d get more clicks.

After test driving the Photo Map feature, it doesn’t seem to add a lot of interest for marketers that wasn’t always there. Geo-location apps haven’t proved to be a silver bullet for mobile marketing anyways (see Gowalla)…

Qualified eyeballs are what advertisers want, and Instagram has tons of those; that’s never been the problem, geo-tagged ones even…